


Adoption Policies

by DeathDirt



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arm Wrestling for Sibling Bonding, F/M, Gen, Raunchy Scenes Later, Team Skull as a Family, Trans Guzma, found family trope, trans plumeria
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathDirt/pseuds/DeathDirt
Summary: One nasty, stormy day in Hau’oli City, a mother and father lose their only child.One nasty, stormy day in Hau’oli City, two wandering, estranged, lost young adults save a child from being hit by a cargo truck.-Alternate title: I found this kid wandering in Hau’oli and she nearly got hit by a truck so she’s my child now
Relationships: Guzma & Plumeri | Plumeria (Pokemon), Guzma/Lusamine (Pokemon)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. A Hurricane and A Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning - a lot of these tags don’t come into play until later in the story
> 
> I had an idea and I’ve been running with it, working through chapter 2 and just so you know, they’re going to be mostly pretty long chapters. I just wanted to get the first one out to establish what’s going on and this is how it came out. *shrug*
> 
> Anyway, first Pokémon fanfic, Guzma hyperfixation has been validated
> 
> Last note: if I wasn’t clear enough, Selene is the girl protagonist’s name from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, and Adrian and Nielle are her dad and mom respectively.

The hurricane was supposed to have passed before the middle of the day. Kukui anxiously shifts from foot to foot while the rain beats on the door of the Pokémon Center. He’d mentioned its location to Adrian and Nielle, but he hadn’t counted on the wild hurricane sticking around long past dawn. Every time the doors hiss open, he searches for them in the new waves of people and Pokémon fleeing the weather. The longer the storm rages, the more anxious he becomes. Lightning flashes and thunder rolls through the next hour of storms. Dozens of people and their Pokémon have filled up the lobby of the Pokémon Center by now, and Kukui, growing desperate, begins searching through the crowd.

Kukui’s attention turns to the doors as they open once again, and feels a wave of relief when he spots Nielle’s Meowth shivering in her arms. He weaves through the small crowd, waving to try to get their attention, but he pauses when he notices their frantic steps. Meowth, despite being drenched, has its fur puffed up and runs from corner to corner alongside Nielle, quickly exchanging greetings with the other Pokémon while Nielle speaks with the gathered people. She nearly runs right past Kukui, would have if he hadn’t stopped her with a touch on her shoulder. “Kukui!” She exclaims, tense shoulders relaxing long enough to throw her arms around Kukui’s neck. He happily reciprocates the gesture, finally able to relax just a little bit now that he knows they’re alright. But he remembers that Adrian and Nielle had a little girl, and he doesn’t see her anywhere.

“Hey, what happened to-“

“Selene? Have you seen her?”

“I- No? Wait a minute, what happened?” Kukui leans closer and finally sees the freely flowing tears streaming down Nielle’s cheeks. He offers a small, sympathetic smile as he dabs the wetness away with the hem of his shirt. 

“The crowd when we got off the ferry, I was holding Selene, I- I don’t know what happened, one minute she was in my arms and the next, we got out to the dock and she was gone. Meowth ran looking for her but never found anything, I don’t know where she could’ve gotten to, Kukui.” Nielle sucks in a shaky breath. She looks miserable, drenched in rainwater, mud flung up at the hem of her long skirt, shaking from the cold. Kukui leads her over to the café and asks her to sit while he gets a drink for her and Adrian. Tapu Cocoa is always what Hala whips up whenever he finds someone feeling helpless and upset, and the Hau’oli Pokémon Center’s café makes some of the best. Adrian has found Nielle and sat down across from her, head in his hands while Nielle carefully rubs his shoulder. Meowth has curled up at her feet, looking just as dejected and downtrodden.

Kukui sits the two cups down beside both relatives. “I’ll see if I can get a hold of the local police. I promise, I’m going to do everything I can to help you find Selene.” He gives his best reassuring grin and a (hopefully) cheerful thumbs-up. Nielle still looks tired, but she at least smiles.

“Thank you so much, Kukui...”

——

“Yo, we gotta lay low ‘til this storm wraps up, Guzma. ‘S not worth sitting out here all night.” 

“I know, I know. There’s a spot a little outside the city limits that should be dry and quiet. I don’t think the Pokémon are gonna come too far out, either, so it should be a good place to stay.”

Plumeria wraps shaking arms around her middle. The wind and rain have gotten her shivering since the storm reached its peak. Guzma grumbles a little to himself as he shrugs out of his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders. She seems surprised, but smiles in thanks. Guzma returns the gesture with a grin and a soft punch to her arm. “Thick as thieves, yeah?” Plumeria nods. She throws the hood over her head, and it looks a little silly with her bright pink and yellow pigtails sticking out from the sides, but there’s nobody out in the streets right now except for the two of them. Everyone else ran straight for the Pokémon Center or the hotel.

The rain doesn’t let up in the slightest after the two of them start jogging down the sidewalk. Guzma holds his forearm just above his eyes so he isn’t blinded by pelting rain drops. He and Plumeria round the corner of the Tourist Bureau where they’d been taking shelter, and start off down the highway that leads out of the city. There aren’t many vehicles that pass by, although a spare few were all nice enough to splash mud and city slime onto the two as they ran. 

Guzma - for no reason, really - turns his head out to observe the street, and what he sees makes him slow to a stop while Plumeria kept running. There was a small...thing, out in the road. At first, he thought it might’ve been a tall trash can, but trash cans don’t typically move with a waddling step. Meters ahead, Plumeria finally notices that she’s left Guzma behind. She turns, yelling, “Hey, come on! We’re almost outta here!” Guzma looks back to her. “There’s something out in the road!” He yells back. Plumeria’s groan is audible even over the rolling thunder. She quickly jogs back, squinting out to what Guzma’s spotted. 

“It’s probably just a Meowth, now let’s go!”

“You ever seen a Meowth that tall?” 

Plumeria huffs and pulls the jacket tighter around her thin shoulders. “I don’t know what it is, but let’s get going. I don’t wanna be out here while the lightning’s so harsh.” As if on cue, another flash illuminates the thing in the road, which looks like a walking coat. But something else lit up too. Guzma squints at a large shape coming down the road. It looks like a cargo truck, fighting against the slide of the wet pavement as it pushes forward through the rain, towards Guzma and Plumeria.

And...

There’s no thought as Guzma sprints out into the street. He hears Plumeria scream behind him. He snatches the little lump and can tangibly feel the rush of wind clawing at the back of his shirt as the truck rushes by, loud horn wailing down the road while Guzma stumbles onto the sidewalk at the other side. Chest heaving with heavy breaths, he startles when Plumeria slams against his side with an angry growl. “You fucking bonehead! You could’ve gotten completely flattened doing that!” The little thing in his arms starts to wriggle, and the motion is enough for Plumeria to momentarily forget her rage as a little head with black hair pokes out of the bundle of clothes. 

Both Guzma and Plumeria have no idea what to think of it. Even so, a roll of thunder reminds them of why they had been running in the first place, and they take off again, running from concrete to grass and dirt and then quickly towards the beach. They duck through tall weeds and leaning palm trees until they get to the old shack sitting right on the beachfront. It’s old, abandoned for years, or maybe decades by now. But the roof, miraculously, is still mostly intact, so it serves as a good enough shelter. Guzma shoves the door open on its rusted hinges, squeezing in once Plumeria is safely inside. 

They both pant in the worn out shack, winded from the long run through the city. Guzma leans back against the half wall just to the side of the door and tilts his head back to stare blankly at the ceiling. There’s holes in the metal roof, but the trees and foliage keep them dry anyhow. Once he’s had a chance to catch his breath, he looks back at the small child he has unintentionally saved. They look young, definitely too young to be wandering around in the middle of a hurricane all alone, pudgy cheeks tinged with pink from the racing wind.

Plumeria sits heavily on the warped boards across from him, water dripping from the borrowed jacket onto the floor. Guzma walks over to sit beside her, kid in his lap. The rain provides constant, steady background noise within the tiny, run-down building. Guzma carefully pulls the little kid from the tangle of thick fabric until they’re free to clamber around at will. At first they tug on his shirt, trying to sit upright. Guzma sits them on the floor between him and Plumeria, but they just get up and start wandering alone. They try to touch and look at whatever they can, curiously inspecting everything from splinters to cobwebs. Guzma pulls a ball from his pocket and lets the Pokémon free. Scizor stands at attention, probably expecting a battle, but turns its head curiously back and forth once it realizes that there’s no opponent to fight.

Guzma waves at the child. “Make sure they don’t hurt themselves or walk off, would you?” Scizor seems confused by the request, though it follows through with minimal hesitation. It stands just behind the child, carefully steadying them with an outstretched pincer when they wobble a little too much. Plumeria rests her chin in her hand, watching the young child toddle around on unsteady legs to and fro across the shack. She looks back towards Guzma. “What’re you gonna do with it now?”

“What do you mean?”

Plumeria huffs and straightens up. “I mean, where are we gonna take the kid? They gotta belong to someone in Hau’oli, right?” 

Guzma nods, pulling at the small hole in his shirt, near the hem. It widens with each minute tug, each thread ripping one by one. “Probably. Once the storm breaks, we’ll head back in, try to find who they belong to.” Guzma pauses when his sight lands on the tag on the inside of the coat the kid was wearing. He pulls the garment closer to take a better look. There’s a name written on the tag - Selene. So their mystery child has a name now. But more importantly, he peeks at the back of the tag. It’s a little difficult to read with the ink bleeding through, but the label looks...off. Alola is pretty strict with its regulations regarding materials and waste, especially for clothes. The inside tag reads “Made in Kanto” above another bit of marking that seems like materials. There’s a word under the markings, it’s been smudged out from the ink bleeding through, but the first part of it is fairly legible. It’s a type of plastic. So this kid...probably belongs to a tourist. Who could very well be long gone.

It’s a coincidence, and he can’t say how likely it is that he’s right, but the hunch is there. 

Plumeria seems like she really wants to get rid of the kid, though. Guzma sucks in air between his teeth before he speaks. “Plumes, this kid’s probably from out of the region.” Plumeria turns her head, then scoots over the few feet separating them. Guzma shows her the tag. “Kanto, looks like, so there’s no telling how long they’ve been here. Or if their parents are still in Hau’oli.” Plumeria chews the inside of her cheek. It’s unclear if she’s upset by his discovery or just thinking about the implications it could have. She looks over at the kid, happily sitting in the curve of Scizor’s pincer while the Pokémon seems amused, if a little unsure. 

“I don’t mind looking after the kid, Guzma. But like...you know the kinda place we live in and how we have to live. I’m down for taking care of ‘em if we can’t find their parents, but don’t get too excited. Y’know?”

Guzma snorts, and Plumeria joins in his laughter shortly after. “Look, I’m not trying to adopt a kid, Plumes, I just don’t want to spend weeks looking for someone who may never come to Alola again.”

Plumeria shakes her head and waves her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Nah, I know that.” She gives Guzma’s shoulder a stiff punch. “Big bad boss-man’s too tough for that sappy shit, right?” Both of them erupt into fits of giggling, gently pushing back and forth with half-hearted jabs until their arms are splotched red and purple.

The rain still drums against the roof of the old shack, but now, the sound is calming. Guzma turns to Plumeria when he feels a hand on his shoulder. She’s smiling despite her hair dye bleeding all over her neck and shoulders. “You know I got your back, Guz.”

Guzma smiles, then puts his hand over Plumeria’s. “Thick as thieves.”

——

“Kick his ass, little sis!”

“You got this big bro!” 

Team Skull’s grunts jeered back and forth in the courtyard in front of the mansion while two of them sat face to face, hands locked together. Guzma sat back with his hands laced behind his head, grin widening when the smaller grunt slammed the bigger one’s hand against the table. The grunts cheered her on, chanting “Selene! Selene! Selene!” over and over while simultaneously reassuring and picking up Tupp, the older grunt. Both of them headbutted and grinned at each other, with Tupp doing the nice thing and lifting Selene onto his shoulders and shouting about how great his little sis was. Plumeria snorts from a few feet away, legs hanging over the edge of the roof. “You think he went easy on her?”

“Pfft. They wouldn’t, even for their little sister.” And little is right. Selene is not only the smallest grunt, just shy of five feet tall and not quite cracking ninety pounds, she’s also the youngest, being only a few days away from eleven years old. Rapp is the next youngest, and she’s fourteen, with most of the grunts being about eighteen or nineteen years old. Guzma is fond of her, for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest is just how hard she tries to keep up with the rest of Team Skull. She doesn’t even have a Pokémon of her own yet, but she’s done surprisingly well in mock battles using her big brothers’ and sisters’ Pokémon, and even managed some luck with handling Guzma’s Pokémon. 

To be fair, though, most of his partners have known Selene longer than the rest of the grunts.

She’s come a long way from the toddler he snatched out of the road so many years ago now. If his schedule lines up right, he’s hoping to do a special something for her eleventh birthday to remedy her lack of Pokémon. He knows the rest of the grunts are just chomping at the bit to have a good fight with their little sis when she finally gets her own partner, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t look forward to it as well. 

Plumeria gives him an odd look. Guzma lifts an eyebrow at her in silent question. She chuckles, standing from her spot on the roof’s edge. “You hurting for a good fight that bad, huh?”

“What? I got you if I need a masochism fix that bad.”

 _Works like a charm_ , he thinks as Plumeria busts into a giggling fit. She shoves his shades down over his face as she walks up the slope of the roof to the window they’d both climbed out from earlier. “You better find her a good partner, Guz,” Plumeria warns. “I’m gonna be kinda pissed if my little sis gets a freakin’ Caterpie.”

“What the hell is wrong with Caterpie?!” He yells as he pushes his shades back up onto his head. “It’s cute!”

Plumeria groans from inside the house. “We aren’t having this fight again, dipshit!” She yells. Guzma waves her off, though he’s smiling anyway. He goes back to watching the grunts mess around in the courtyard, wrestling or songwriting or just working on some graffiti. This is what Guzma likes about Team Skull. The grunts can be happy, do what they want, and they all get taken care of. 

Tupp and Selene are off in a corner, bumping shoulders and goofing around like kids should. Both of them look happy, grinning wildly despite the fierce competitive edge they’d had a few minutes ago. Back to being bro and sis. Even from this distance, Guzma can see that Selene still has a spark of competition waiting to be ignited. Although Tupp’s worn from the arm-wrestling match, Selene still roughs around with him, jumping on his back and hanging off of him while Tupp stumbles around with an extra ninety pounds on his neck. Tupp suddenly pitches forward and the two of them fall, laughing at one another until another grunt from across the courtyard yells - “ _ **DOGPILE ON TUPP AND SELENE!!!**_ ”

Suddenly the grunts are all scrambling to jump to the top of the pile, and Guzma actually laughs out loud at the whole thing. There’s never any rhyme or reason to calling a dogpile among the grunts, but it’s always hell trying not to laugh if he’s on the same level when they do. Something about a bunch of teenagers and one tween kicking at each other to fit into the same space as tightly as possible is absolutely hilarious, and it’s another one of those bonding, sibling-like interactions he likes to see out of the grunts. It’s not even a game, it’s just how fast can all the grunts squeeze onto a single pile of bodies. They’ve only gotten someone hurt once or twice, and it’s always just a bruise that felt pretty bad, so Guzma is happy enough to let it go on.

Plumeria’s bright head of hair walks out from the house and starts yelling at the grunts to break up the pile. Slowly, it falls apart, until all that are left are the dirty and bruised Tupp and Selene, smiling and thanking Plumeria when she walks over to check on them. Guzma tugs out his phone and checks the date. 

Three more days til he gets to head out on this little family road trip.


	2. The Start Of Something Beautiful(Ly Horrible)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes that are relevant:
> 
> Selene is deaf, if you are a deaf reader and have any tips for making this aspect of her character better/more believable, please lmk!
> 
> Guzma and Plumeria are both trans, Guzma is the only one mentioned in this chapter but for future reference, both of them are.

“Yo, Selene!” The grunt turns her head when one of the others points out Guzma and Plumeria standing at the entrance to Po Town. She quickly nods in thanks, then sprints out to meet the boss. Although she’s significantly smaller than Team Skull’s big bad boss, she still stands at her tallest with her chest puffed out before him. 

He looks very...weird. Team Skull’s boss’s usual look was completely gone. His shockingly white hair is dyed black, his signature shades are nowhere to be found, replaced with a simple pair of black semi-rimless sunglasses, his usual plain white tee is swapped out for a violet-and-lime atrocity that looks something like what a raging Muk might vomit out after getting into a fight with a highlighter and a glow stick, and his favorite baggy pair of sweats are gone in favor of black nylon shorts. The only thing Selene really recognizes is his black and white jacket. Up close, she knows it’s still him, but she might have a hard time picking him out of a crowd. Guzma pushes his hand under her cap to ruffle her black hair a bit before he waves for her to follow. There’s some hesitation at first, with Selene glancing back and forth between Guzma’s back and Plumeria’s stoic watch. Eventually, she steels her courage, and jogs to catch up to Guzma, far ahead. 

They both walk quietly at the edge of the water, weaving through cracking rocks while the tide is low. Selene studies the destroyed super market as they pass. It had been scary to listen to it a few months ago, helplessly clinging to her brothers and sisters while the Tapu raged, unable to do more than hope that it wouldn’t find Po Town in the crossfire. Her brothers and sisters told her that it probably wouldn’t, but they had all seemed just as scared as her. Their only comfort then had been Guzma and Plumeria keeping an eye on the wild flashes of green in the distance, watching at the entrance to town. Even if there wasn’t much danger of the Tapu coming for them, it was still terrifying to feel the tremors from so far away. And the result afterward had been even more frightening, according to a few of the oldest grunts who had snuck around the police tape to get a peek.

On they walked, leisurely strolling one foot after the other, with the occasional stop when Selene started lagging behind. Guzma managed to keep his back straight walking through the more populated spots, though he usually wound up rubbing a spot once they’d gotten through and he slouched back over. Selene does her best to remember the cool rap that Tupp had written for the gang to sing for Guzma, stumbling around the rhymes that don’t come easily to her. If nothing else, it forces the boss to smile at her screw-ups, and he at least seems to get what she’s trying to go for. 

They stop at Blush Mountain for a while, and Selene marvels at how little attention they get. Usually, when the boss strolls through, heads are turning left and right, either out of fear or awe. Now, nobody seems to recognize him, even though Selene is still decked out in Team Skull gear. She gingerly pokes his shoulder while he’s sitting against some kind of red rock, just to be sure it’s still Guzma. He grumbles and bats her hand away, probably trying to nap while they took a break from walking. One of the scientists walks toward them brusquely, and Selene expects that they’re about to get heckled out, but she’s surprised when they start talking.

“Sir, do you know what your child is wearing?”

Guzma cracks one eye open long enough to look up at the woman, then goes right back to trying to nap. “No idea what you mean.” 

She is not amused by this. The scientist crosses her arms over her chest, huffing with a snobbish sniff. Selene grimaces behind her bandana. If she had a little less self-preservation instinct, she’d snatch Golisopod right out of the boss’s pocket and teach this lady who she was dealing with. “Your child is wearing clothes that fit the description of a gaggle of ridiculous teenagers called Team Skull. They’re not well-liked here, or anywhere other than their miserable wreck of a home.”

The corner of Guzma’s mouth twitches down. Selene shifts back a step, ready to see him go all out, but he just raises his hands in surrender. “Alright, whatever, leave me alone. ‘M tired.” Selene watches, disbelieving, as the woman smiles and, with a victorious and confident flourish, turns to go back into the lab. First she stands, ready to go right into that lab with a can of spray paint and a chip on her small shoulder, until Guzma drags her back by the hem of her tank. “I’ll get this place taken care of, Sel, don’t you worry.” Guzma’s grin is all sharp teeth and dark promises. “They wanna try to piss me off on your big day, fine by me. They’ll get some righteous destruction tomorrow.” The grunt pulls her bandana down to flash her bright grin, so wide that the corners of her eyes scrunch up. Even if she can’t vocalize it, Guzma knows fully well that she would be chanting praise for him the moment they got away from all the people.

He rubs the top of her head before he stands up, hands shoved in his pockets while Selene stumbles after him. 

As they approach Malie City, they come across more people who tell Guzma about Selene’s “inappropriate” clothing, although much nicer than the lab rat at Blush Mountain. He waves them all off and lets them know that he’ll take care of it personally. And he will. Later. 

For the time being, he grits his teeth in another fake grin when the ferry’s captain says the same thing Guzma has been hearing for the past several hours from all kinds of strangers. He doesn’t even bother with responding this time, just keeps up the very discomforting wide grin as he walks past until he is able to fall back to his usual grimace. 

Selene keeps close to him as they board, and only separates once the boat starts moving. She looks out over the railing Guzma is leaning on, staring with wide, sparkling dark eyes at the leaping Sharpedo, the joyful Alomomola, and the quiet Tentacool as the boat picks up speed. Maybe it was a symptom of not having a Pokémon of her own, but the creatures have always fascinated the young grunt. No matter how often she sees them, Selene never fails to be awed and excited by the Pokémon of Team Skull, whether they be Guzma’s, Plumeria’s, or her big brothers’ and sisters’. It’s cute, Guzma thinks. He was disillusioned with the whole trainer gig as a young man, even if his bond with his partners never faded, but seeing Selene always be incredibly captivated by even the smallest and weakest of Pokémon makes his stupid father complex swell.

Selene watches the Pokémon and Guzma watches Selene for the short hour or so that it takes to travel from Ula’ula to Melemele. The trip isn’t nearly so bad once seasickness sets in for those afflicted and excitement wears off for those interested. Selene doesn’t move her eyes off the waves for even a moment, excitedly pointing towards different Pokémon while she shuffled through some cards Rapp had given to her as a gift earlier in the morning to identify Pokémon with. 

Spending time with the grunts together is one of those things that Guzma maybe enjoys just a little too much for being a gang boss, but one-on-one time is good at making him feel slightly human. He’s talked with Plumeria about it, and she does her best to help out; the simple fact is, the way his grunts worship his every move makes Guzma convinced that he has to keep the macho shell on all the time, even when he’d really just prefer to snuggle in a pile of blankets with Golisopod. It tends to rub his self-esteem the wrong way with a sheet of sandpaper, especially when he has to try to slink into town to pick up more hormones without being seen by too many people. But this sort of hang out with the grunts, just the boss and one or two of his goons going out for a day, builds his confidence back more than anything else could. It’s always an ego boost because he knows that every grunt knows that he keeps chugging with HRT every day. And they still don’t give half a damn, because he is Guzma, Team Skull’s baddest motherfucking boss the world will ever know.

Which occasionally leads to getting whacked over the head with a metal bat when his ego gets too big, but hey - a small price to pay.

The captain leans into the boat’s foghorn as the first bright colors of Hau’oli come into view. Guzma leans back just enough to see the outline of the docks, ringed by bright metal buoys bobbing in the water. Selene is crouched at his side, flipping through cards to pick out which Pokémon were on the boat with them, although Guzma is almost certain that she’s memorized an entire Pokédex of information at this point. He nudges her with his foot, signing, “We’re about to get off, stick with me.” Selene quickly gathers up the cards and shoves them into her pocket, standing to look very not-intimidating beside Guzma. 

After a moment of thought, he taps her shoulder and adds, “Pull the Skull gear.” Even without his usual outfit, people have shuffled to the side as Guzma and Selene passed just to give him space. That could very well just be because Selene still has her Skull cap and bandana and medallion, but Guzma is fairly certain after looking at her that it’s because of him. It’s not much of a surprise. He’d always been the guy nobody liked while girls and boys alike fawned over...everyone else. Something about his permanently circled eyes and thick eyebrows, he thinks. Not that he cares anymore, although it definitely fucked with his head as a kid.

It’s about midday when the ferry passengers disembark. Alola’s sun shines relentlessly overhead, and even though Guzma is just as dressed down as his grunt, he feels like he’s going to melt any second. Maybe it’ll feel better once the crowd clears out. People are shoving all around him, but the small hand gripping the back of his shirt keeps him moving forward. Most of the people just disperse out around the harbor, so Guzma, eager to get away, heads right through the city once he’s confirmed that Selene is still following, cutting through alleys and side streets and fenced-in grass until they get to the outskirts of Hau’oli. The people are still way too close, but it’s at least mildly more comfortable to walk unimpeded by a tangle of directionless bodies. 

Selene is watching everything with awe-struck wide eyes. She’s never been allowed to leave with her brothers or sisters for another island, always told that she’d get her chance once she got some damage-dealing Pokémon under her belt. Now here the boss is, spending her birthday with her in a brand new place, and she’s already ecstatic. Everything is so different, and she struggles to keep from running off to explore. One of the things she gets yelled at and thumped on the head for often is heading out on her own for whatever little adventure she can concoct for herself. Usually, she isn’t completely alone, with someone’s Pokémon typically following her as she heads off. Here, she can just manage not to because of how hard it could be to find the boss again if she wound up lost. And also how she knows absolutely nothing about the island’s layout, there’s no telling where she could end up. 

Just like before, they keep walking, until concrete and pavement fall away, curving off somewhere else, and grass and dirt spring up in their place. The posters boasting of Alola’s bountiful flora and fauna were replaced with tall, reaching palms, bright, multicolored flowers dotting the sides of the worn dirt path, and wild Pokémon, soaring across the sky or cheerfully zigzagging through the grass. Selene has always thought that Ula’ula, if not the most nature-centered place, still has its own unique charm between the desert flowers and Po Town’s grime. Here, it’s almost like nature is fighting against that survivor’s charm, not only surviving but thriving in the sun and breeze.

As they walk, they pass a house, nestled back into wild overgrowth that looked recently trimmed back. Selene notices the truck sitting in the garage and the boxes piled up at the door. It seems like someone is moving in. 

They stop some distance away, where a wooden fence keeping the abundant nature at bay sharply curls to follow the coast. Guzma digs through his pockets, but can only manage to come up with his own Pokéballs. He groans, palm slapping over his forehead and fingertips digging through his hair. “The freakin’ balls are probably still in Po Town... Fuck my life.”

Selene leans into view, carefully signing, “Everything good, boss?” After a moment of thought, Guzma plops Golisopod’s Pokéball into Selene’s hand. 

He keeps her attention while he replies, “Stick here, I’m gonna go get some stuff. We’re getting you a Pokémon when I get back.” 

Stars shine in her dark eyes, even as they follow Guzma walking back towards town. Once he’s around another corner and out of sight, Selene cheers, jumping with excitement, probably getting a lot of dirt and sweat all over her black tank, but she’s far beyond caring. She’s finally getting her own Pokémon! Years of being frustrated by only being able to use everyone else’s because most of Ula’ula’s wild Pokémon were too strong for a newbie to handle, and now she’s going to get one on her birthday! She nearly tosses Golisopod out just to be able to express her joy to someone else.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots someone walking along the road. They’re noticeable because their white lab coat and cap contrast sharply with the rich shades of Alolan nature. At their feet were three small Pokémon, bounding alongside their even steps. Selene recognizes them all instantly, despite the Pokémon being very rare. The round tawny bird is a Rowlet, a silent flying grass-type. The shuffling blue Pokémon blowing water bubbles is a Popplio, a water-type. And the black and red cat is a fire-type, Litten. All of them are super rare, and wild ones could only be found in some remote preserves on Akala, if Selene was recalling the information on her ID cards correctly. Needless to say, she’s curious, and, after a quick look down the road to be sure Guzma is still gone, she follows the stranger. 

They walk up a gently sloping hill, Selene doing her best to keep quiet behind, Golisopod’s Pokéball clutched tightly in her fist. Grass shifts and rustles to the side of the road, Selene notices it before the stranger, and a Yungoos slides out onto the path ahead of the stranger. It gnashes its teeth and opens its mouth in an aggressive display. The stranger seems unfazed, and Selene can’t quite tell what they do, but the three Pokémon attack in unison. The Yungoos scrambles back into the undergrowth, and the stranger seems triumphant. Selene peers into the brush, where angry eyes stare back out. The Yungoos’ mother, probably, and it made itself known by stomping out onto the path before the stranger could get too far from the grass. 

This time, the three Pokémon wavered, but Selene was always eager to prove herself. She hurls the Pokéball up, Golisopod bursting out with a flash of light. The stranger turns, surprised, and Selene, for a moment, wonders why he looks familiar. Golisopod glances back, and Selene quickly jabs. The Pokémon nods decisively, flying forward, crashing into the Gumshoos with First Impression. Gumshoos is sent hurtling backward, only sliding to a stop when it digs its claws into the dirt. It bares its teeth at its opponent, charging forward with an open mouth and glowing teeth. Selene crosses her arms over her face, and Golisopod locks its shelled arms in front of it. The Gumshoos’ fangs catch on Golisopod’s crossed arms, and when it glances back, Selene makes a slashing motion. Golisopod digs its feet into the ground and rips its arms away from the wild Pokémon, stunning it with the pain erupting in its jaw as two teeth tumble to the ground, and then slamming it with Razor Shell.

The Gumshoos flops on its side, still for a moment, before it shakes itself up and dashes back into the wild from where it came. Selene runs forward and throws her arms around Golisopod’s hulking frame, and it embraces her in turn with gentle arms. 

Someone taps on her shoulder suddenly. Selene turns to see the stranger grinning. “Thanks for the help! I didn’t expect a big Pokémon like that to come charging so close to Hau’oli.” She gives the stranger a thumbs-up and a grin. “You handle your Golisopod really well. I’m impressed!” Selene looks over her shoulder at Golisopod, then shrugs sheepishly. 

She signs, even if it isn’t likely that the stranger would know what she was saying, “This is my dad’s Golisopod, he let me hold onto it while he went to get some stuff from the city.” The stranger’s face lights up and he begins to sign back, almost as well as her brothers and sisters, “You did really well controlling a Pokémon that isn’t yours! Especially a big strong one like Golisopod.” Selene signed a thanks, then looked down at the touch of soft fur. The stranger’s Litten has snuggled up against her ankles, its purring sending vibrations through her legs. Selene gasps in surprise and crouches to pet the small Pokémon. Warm fur shifted under her palm, and the purr lifted in volume. Selene flinches as colors move suddenly just outside of her field of vision, but relaxes when she sees that it’s the Rowlet and Popplio clamoring in for their share of attention. 

She makes sure to pet all of them, soft, gentle strokes across their heads and backs that each Pokémon seemed to enjoy. Most of the Pokémon she was used to had smooth skin or scales, but Rowlet and Litten and Popplio all have fluffy fur and feathers, and the difference was wonderful to feel on her palms. The stranger above her smiles. “Would you like to come with me up to Iki Town?” He signs. “I’m heading there to give one of these little guys to a new trainer.” Selene responds with an elated nod. 

The stranger grins and waves for her to follow. Selene and Golisopod stay close behind, Golisopod watching the swaying leaves with narrowed, wary eyes while Selene jumps and plays with the three smaller Pokémon. Taller grass thins out and gives way to shorter blades, and then to another dirt path. Selene notices a few people watch her and the stranger pass by, waving in greeting. Even if it’s not directed at her, Selene waves back with her new friend. The third time it happens, she pauses, staring at her hand and then looking back up at Golisopod. The boss probably wouldn’t be thrilled that she left the spot he told her to wait, or that she just ran off with some person she doesn’t recognize, _or_ that she’s kind of acting like all the softie Alola jerks that Team Skull hates so much. She tries to be more sulky and brooding, but she finds that it doesn’t work too well without her cap and medallion. And even with them, she’s not very intimidating without one of her siblings or the boss beside her. 

Then again, Selene thinks, the boss did go for a less conspicuous look for the trip. He dyed his hair and everything, and Guzma simply does not go with any hair color other than white. So maybe being happy and excited works better for laying low.

As they round a gentle curve in the path, someone comes running down a set of wooden stairs nestled into a steep hill to meet them, waving and hopping with every other step. “Hey! Professor!” 

“Hau, how are you?” 

The new kid grins widely and pumps his fist into the air. “Excited! How else am I supposed to feel? I’m finally gonna get a Pokémon!” Selene smiles when Hau finally notices her, and he smiles back. The professor waves Selene closer as the Pokémon line up in front of Hau. “This is Hau, the new trainer I mentioned earlier. It’s time for you to choose the Pokémon you’ll start your journey with. Why don’t you pick from these three, Hau?”

Hau grins. “I already know my choice. I decided ages ago who my partner is gonna be.” The young man stoops down in front of Rowlet, who tilts its head curiously. He gently fits his hands underneath Rowlet’s wings and lifts it up. His eyes are practically glowing as he asks, “How about it, Rowlet? You wanna be my partner?” The Rowlet flaps its soft wings and coos in affirmation. Hau laughs, and Rowlet flaps out of his hands to land on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek affectionately. 

The professor grins and walks forward to ruffle Hau’s hair. “Great choice, Hau! Rowlet looks like it’s happy too.” From a few feet away, Selene watches Hau and his new partner, then looks at the professor as he studies the remaining Pokémon. Hau seems to catch on as well. 

“Is everything okay, professor?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry, kids. I’m just thinking about what to do with Litten and Popplio. I’m capable of taking care of these two, but the lab is so crowded already, there’s only so much that Lillie can handle since she isn’t a Pokémon trainer.” Selene and Hau glance at one another and shrug, and Hau seems to finally notice the big bug type Pokémon behind Selene. 

He flinches back and Rowlet flutters on his shoulder. “Woah! Is that _your_ Pokémon?” Selene shakes her head and tells Hau the same thing she told the professor. Hau has to watch her hands for a few minutes, even repeat the gestures back to himself a few times, but he does understand her eventually. “Oh. Well- Wait, Professor, why don’t you give one of the Pokémon to her?”

The professor studies Selene for a moment, then bursts into a wide grin. “That’s a great idea, Hau! Since you’re in need of a partner as well, why don’t you pick one of these two? These Pokémon are just waiting for new adventure!” 

Selene stares in disbelief as the remaining Pokémon step forward. She crouches down, not unlike Hau a few moments ago, and reaches her hand out. First, she reaches for Popplio. The water type sniffs her hand, then blows out a water bubble, which bursts in Selene’s face. Hau and the professor chuckle and Selene is in good enough spirits not to take it personally. Then she extends her hand to Litten. Litten looks up at her with its huge yellow eyes. She smiles down at the feline Pokémon, hoping that she can convey something through her expression. Litten steps forward, cautiously sniffs at Selene’s outstretched hand...

Then pushes its head under her palm. Litten purrs steadily as Selene strokes its head. She carefully grabs Litten under its front legs and holds it close. Its eyes seem to shine as brightly as the sun far above. Selene hugs the Pokémon to her chest where it adjusts itself into a ball, purring even louder against her chest while it rubs its tail along her arm. She rubs her cheek along the top of Litten’s head while it continues its steady purring. Hau and the professor walk over, congratulatory smiles for the new trainer. 

“Wow, you and Litten look super happy!” Hau says, Rowlet cooing in enthusiastic agreement on his shoulder. Selene jumps to her feet with Litten meowing gleefully. She turns around and lifts Litten up so that the small Pokémon is face to face with the menacing Golisopod. Golisopod extends its large claws to the small feline. Litten first sniffs at the wide, armored shell covering most of Golisopod’s body. It lifts its tiny paw and rests it against the much larger claws, meowing up at the large bug. Selene grins at the two Pokémon. She sits Litten on her shoulder for it to perch there, but Litten gets its own idea instead. It leaps up to balance on top of Selene’s head, carelessly licking its paws while Selene reaches up to pet it again. 

Selene fishes the Pokéball out of her pocket for Golisopod to return to in a thin beam of red light. Litten bats at the ball as it shrinks down to a more manageable size. The professor starts back down the path he and Selene just came from, waving for the two kids to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you two the Pokémon Center. It’s a vital tool for trainers of all levels!” 

Hau and Selene are quick to follow, going back and forth between leaping around with their new partners and simply hugging the small Pokémon. Suddenly, Hau bumps Selene’s shoulder. “Hey, I never got your name.” Selene shuffles around Litten weaving between her ankles and signs out her name to the professor. 

He seems to pause for a split second, almost like someone froze him in place. Selene doesn’t think that Hau noticed. 

Kukui forces himself to laugh. “Your name is Selene, then?” The young girl nods. He looks to the Litten curling around her legs and thinks a little too much about Nielle’s little girl. Even so, he smiles at the two kids to keep from putting too much of a damper on their happy moods. There’s nothing better than seeing a young trainer choose and be chosen by their very first partner, and he remembers the feeling well. Being able to give that same feeling to others is a magical experience, Kukui thinks. 

They reach the base of the hill and Kukui motions for the kids to follow him down the road towards Hau’oli. “The Pokémon Center is out this way!” He looks over his shoulder and stops immediately in his tracks.

“Guzma,” Kukui mutters under his breath.

He looks almost unrecognizable, hair dyed black and in rather normal clothes, both doing a good job of keeping Team Skull’s boss looking like an average tourist. But Kukui can spot him from his undercut, the purple under his eyes, and the bored twist of his mouth. Kukui reaches out to stop Selene when she dashes forward, but she blows right past him and straight to Guzma. Litten perches on her head while she signs to him, and Guzma looks like he’s responding easily. 

“Here, I picked up some Pokéballs so we can- Eh?” Guzma looks at the black cat peering curiously into the bag of supplies he’d gone back for. Last he checked, Litten weren’t found wild on Melemele, and Selene wouldn’t have been silly enough to steal some trial jerk’s Pokémon in broad daylight, with or without Golisopod. Guzma looks over the Pokémon to none other than the walking hero complex. “Kukui,” he drawls, glaring at the Alola professor. Guzma sneers over the Pokémon’s head, perfectly happy to take Kukui’s Pokémon for his grunt and go. He waves over his back as he turns back to the city streets, with his opposite arm around Selene’s shoulders. “Love to smack you around, _professor_ , but I’ve got some higher priorities. So,” he leans down a bit to be on more equal level with Selene, who has shifted to cradle her new Litten against her chest, “You ready to go get beat down in your first ever Pokémon battle?” 

She reacts with the same enthusiasm as all the grunts, nothing but sharp-toothed grins and fire behind her eyes. Guzma thumps her head in good fun, and she bounces right back against him.

But wouldn’t it just be too simple to be allowed to go home?

“Guzma! Wait!” Guzma rolls his eyes at Kukui’s voice approaching from behind, not even gracing the Pokémon professor with an acknowledgement until Kukui forces it, running around to stop Guzma and Selene in their tracks. “Have you given any kind of thought as to how Selene is going to battle?” 

“She knows how to handle herself in a battle.”

“I saw how she battles. What do you expect her to do if an opponent uses Sand Attack? If her Pokémon’s sight is impaired by Sandstorm or Blizzard? What happens if she decides to raise a Pokémon like Zubat, who can’t see her directions?”

“She’ll figure it out,” Guzma growls out from behind grit teeth. He’s far past the desire to deal with Kukui, even if what he’s brought up are legitimate problems Guzma had thought of when he brought Selene out in the first place.

Kukui digs into his pocket and holds up a small black earpiece of sorts. It’s thin and sleek, with a piece that extends outward when Kukui grabs the end and pulls. “I’ve got some tech from the Ferrum region that would make battling for Selene easy. But-“ For the first time, possibly in years, Kukui meets Guzma eye to eye. “I want you and I to have a conversation.” 

Guzma is, understandably, wary of the random, out of nowhere offer that he knows Kukui would never make under normal circumstances. He looks down at Selene, who is equally as skeptical, even though she’s the one in need of the tech. And that’s what it comes down to, really. Kukui wasn’t wrong about anything he’d mentioned giving problems to Selene in battles. Team Skull also has a hard time getting anything beyond basic electricity because of where Po Town is located.

It’s only a talk, after all. Who said he had to be nice and cooperative?

Guzma motions for the earpiece and snatches it as soon as Kukui gets close enough. “Soon as I see that this thing works, we can talk all night if you want.” He hands the tech over to Selene, who hooks the small device over her left ear. Kukui steps forward and drops more, smaller things into her palm. He fits one into Litten’s ear and then steps back. Selene looks awkwardly between the boss and Kukui for a moment. She crouches to let Litten leap to the ground, and the two of them search for a target. Selene spots a sturdy tree stump and looks at Litten. The small feline Pokémon looks up, and the two nod at each other in unison. 

Selene swings her arm in front of her as she’s seen in countless battles before. Litten runs forward, claws extended, and scratches the stump, leaving three clear claw marks in the bark. Even though it’s the command she’d thought of, seeing Litten do it without any words or specific gestures made her freeze. In the span of maybe a second, Selene had rushed forward to drop onto the ground in front of Litten, half-crying as she pets the very confused Pokémon. She snuggles the feline’s face, overwhelmed with joy and relief that she has found a way to battle just as smoothly as her brothers and sisters. 

The tears are not something Guzma expected, so he keeps his reaction suppressed for Selene to have her moment. She manages to dry herself up quickly thanks to Hau walking over and offering a warm smile and a hand to help her to her feet. “So. Since you’ve got that super cool tech now...you wanna have a Pokémon battle?!” Selene nods quickly, and after dropping Golisopod’s Pokéball into Guzma’s hand, the two kids run off to a more open area, Guzma and Kukui slowly stepping after them.

They stop at the gate blocking off the trail to Ten Carat Hill while the two kids begin their battle. Guzma leans back against the gate, pointedly looking away from Kukui. Although he agreed to talk with Kukui, Guzma is not about to start it any sooner than he has to. The heat from Selene’s Litten’s Ember blows against his face, and he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face watching her battle. He likes watching his grunts fight; even when they’re against a wall, they fight like their lives are on the line, putting everything they have into their battles. It’s something he beats into their thick skulls on the daily, and a point of personal pride when it comes through in his grunts’ battles.

Finally, Kukui speaks. “Selene’s...in Team Skull, then?” Guzma turns his head slowly to give Kukui his best ‘are you actually that fucking dumb?’ look. Kukui huffs through his nose and shrugs, forcing a smile onto his face. “Wanted to be sure, is all. Where did she come from?” 

“Malie.” The lie flows easily off his tongue. “It’s where most of the grunts come from.” Guzma crosses his arms over his chest. It’s definitely not because he’s got a tiny seed of self-consciousness working out because of Kukui’s stupid open lab coat.

Kukui seems dissatisfied, but doesn’t press. “How old was she, when she joined?”

“I don’t freakin’ know, eight? Maybe nine.” Another lie. The road he’d snatched Selene off of as a two year old wasn’t that far away, he’d walked beside it on the way into Hau’oli.

“Did she mention anyone that she had left behind? Parents, siblings... Anything?”

“No. I don’t know jack about what kinda family she came out of, other than they’re the type that acted like their little girl didn’t exist when taking care of her got inconvenient.” That’s not entirely a lie. He thinks very lowly of whatever idiots would let a toddler wander around alone in the middle of a hurricane, and he assumes that they were exactly the type of asshole that would have Selene running for Po Town like the rest of his grunts, once she was old enough. They aren’t bad kids, any of them - not really. They just didn’t have anyone else that cared about them. Guzma narrows his eyes at Kukui. “Since when did you get such a hard-on for background checking my grunts?”

Kukui sighs and looks back out at the battle where Litten and Rowlet are exchanging attacks. He doesn’t particularly feel comfortable expressing this kind of vulnerability to Guzma, of all people, but he’s also not one for secrets. “It’s been nine years ago, I think. A close friend of mine came out to Alola with her husband and daughter after they’d let me stay with them while I took on the Indigo League. Do you remember the hurricane that year, at the start of the summer?”

Guzma nods slowly. “Lampent. What about it?”

“My friend and her family disembarked right as the hurricane built to its strongest. They lost their daughter in the crowd and haven’t seen her since. Her name was Selene, she was wrapped up because they’d been warned about the hurricane but got away from them somehow. Dark hair and eyes. Well.” Kukui smiles despite his somber tone. He puts his hand against the back of his neck, rubbing sheepishly. “I figured it was just coincidence that your Selene reminded me of my friend’s kid. I’ve been thinking about her more since that friend of mine moved all the way out here to Alola while her husband works in Kanto.” Kukui nods towards the lonely house on Route 1. 

Outwardly, Guzma shows barely any acknowledgement, but internally, he’s shocked. He’d always assumed Selene’s parents, if she had them, were tourists, gone and never to return. It doesn’t change anything that one of her parents is here. He still has about as much respect for them as the monstrous Giratina would have for a blade of grass. But his mind races with the new information.

More heat blows towards the two of them, and Guzma looks out at the cloud of dust the two small Pokémon and equally small trainers have managed to kick up. When the dust finally settles, he grins. Selene and her Litten are standing tall, huffing and winded from their first real battle together, while the other kid, the kahuna’s grandson, if Guzma cares to give a crap about faces, is standing in mild shock while his Rowlet is knocked out on the ground. “Well, well. Another victory for Team Skull.” Guzma shrugs at Kukui, who seems a little less than pleased by the soft gloating. Selene scoops up Litten and runs over, wildly skipping and clumsily trying to sign with her arms and hands occupied by her small Pokémon. Guzma throws his arm around her neck and rubs his knuckles wildly over the top of her head.

Although it does something in the moment to keep him looking pleased, there’s a dull ache in his chest that he knows he’ll have to handle eventually.

Eventually...


	3. Picture Perfect (In Your Eyes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About updates - I did start off strong, but definitely do not expect daily updates, lol, I went from writing maybe 1k words in a couple weeks to 9k in 2 days, I’m not gonna keep this up for the whole fic lmao.
> 
> I’m interested to hear how you guys like the way I write the Pokémon battles in my fic. I’d prefer to write them as anime-style Pokémon battles where much weaker Pokémon get a fighting chance against more threatening opponents, even if this fic is based largely on the main story of Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon.
> 
> Also I am just coming up with names for Team Skull grunts at random based off the names they get in the anime, so lmk if I name one smthn dumb and offensive that I didn’t catch, Ive been researching to check but I’m sure I’ll miss something eventually ^w^;
> 
> Please enjoy!

Plumeria throws open another door, only angered by the continuing failure to find the boss. Where the hell could Guzma be?

It’s been three days since he and Selene came back, a new Litten in tow from Professor Hotshot himself, apparently, and a successful first battle against another new trainer as well. The grunts had cheered and clapped and whooped for their little sister now that she finally had her own Pokémon, and such a rare one at that. None of them dared to battle her, though. 

Team Skull had a little tradition, initiation, if you will. Pokémon battles outside of Po Town were fair game, but the first fight you had in Team Skull’s house was with the big bad himself, even if it was the only Pokémon battle you ever had in Po Town. Nobody ever beat Guzma and Golisopod, but beating them isn’t really the point. Back in the day, it started as a way to keep the grunts in line, make sure they knew who’s who in Team Skull. Anymore, it’s just an excuse to watch some Pokémon rough around with each other, but everyone still looks forward to the fights. It’s like a rite of passage, getting beaten down by the big boss again and again until you can’t get back up, one that every grunt has to go through.

Selene had been raring to go as soon as she and Guzma stepped back into Po Town, but he’d waved her off with a quiet mumble of “Tomorrow...” And nobody has seen him since then. Plumeria heads out onto the balcony, pointlessly, since she knows that he’s not going to be there. She steps out to the broken railing and looks over Po Town. Selene is easy to spot, even from up here. She’s curled up by her lonesome outside the door to the old Pokémon Center, Litten in her lap and a couple of her older siblings trying to gently cheer her up. Plumeria’s heard from the other grunts that Guzma refusing to fight Selene and her Litten was making her feel like an utter reject. Not that Team Skull wasn’t made up of rejects, but it’s one thing to be abandoned by a world you hated anyway. It’s something else to be rejected by the guy who told you to keep your head up when you told the world to fuck off. 

Selene’s probably extra sensitive to this stuff, Plumeria thinks. Coming into Team Skull as a two year old toddler had to do something terrible to her self-image, especially when Guzma was weirdly refusing to do even the basic traditions Team Skull has crafted up to get closer as a gang. At least she has her own partner now. Plumeria smiles as grunts drift away and are replaced by others, always cycling to make sure their little sis is alright, and her Litten curling up and rubbing its body wherever it could to keep her warm and happy. 

Plumeria jumps onto the carved railing, then from there to the slant of the roof. She gets higher, then walks from one edge of the roof to the other, looking for whatever sign of Guzma she can, until, by sheer chance, she spots him while she’s turning to run to the opposite side of the roof again. He’s laying flat on the ridge, motionless, with an old radio sitting right behind his head. His hair is still black, since he hadn’t dyed it back again after going out with Selene on her birthday, and he doesn’t have much on that makes him show up against the eternally cloudy sky. No shades and no medallion, his jacket is over his shoulders and he’s keeping himself steady by planting his feet on either side of the roof’s slant and pushing against the shingles. It’s no wonder nobody found him for so long.

He stays completely still as she approaches, to the point that Plumeria worries that he might’ve taken a strong hit of a hard drug. She slumps against the roof just beside him, head tilted back to watch the clouds swirl in their stormy rage. “Grunts have been getting worried, y’know,” Plumeria says. “I know you tend to lose track of time when you do shit like this, but you really need to at least go down and beat someone’s ass. It’s been three days since they’ve seen you.” Plumeria looks over her shoulder and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Guzma shift into a more comfortable position, then settle back into stillness. She grumbles at the dismissal. 

Just as she’s about to lay into him for acting so weird, Guzma, oddly monotone, says, “Kukui told me about a friend of his losing their kid.” Plumeria quirks an eyebrow. This seems...completely random and out of nowhere. She frowns, carefully pushing back until she is sitting on the ridge, and notices that the purple around Guzma’s eyes looks darker than usual.

“So... What about the kid? And why would he tell you about it? I mean, why would Kukui talk to you at all?”

“Dick wanted to talk to me before he’d hand over the Ferrum tech. He said the kid got lost nine years ago.” Plumeria furrows her brow. “In Hau’oli City.” She leans back until she’s sitting straight up on the ridge. “When the nastiest hurricane in twenty years blew through.” Plumeria’s eyes widen as she realizes exactly what Guzma is saying, past the words.

“So Selene’s...?”

“Her mom moved in on Route 1, right outside the outskirts of Hau’oli, across from dumb fucking Kukui’s lab.” Guzma slowly pushes his hand through his hair, pulling it back to stare at the gunky remains of the black dye that still hadn’t come out sticking to his fingers. He rubs them together absently while Plumeria shifts to sit closer to the boss. She watches, silently, waiting for some sort of signal to move away. Guzma just lowers his hand and goes back to staring at the gray skies. 

Plumeria inches closer until she can sit just behind Guzma, rearranging him with his head in her lap (and getting a little scared that he doesn’t even bother struggling even though he usually doesn’t like this sort of physical affection). “So did you tell her?” 

“Why the hell would I _tell_ her?” Guzma sits up, looking back at Plumeria like she’s just asked him something ridiculous. 

Plumeria narrows her eyes and leans back, propping herself up on the roof with one hand. “Why _wouldn’t_ you tell her?”

Guzma splutters and stammers for a second. When he finally gets control over his uncooperative mouth, he slouches over, glaring towards his admin. “Yeah, sure, lemme go down there for that little ditty of a talk. Yo, Selene, I definitely kidnapped you as a two year old because of a giant crowd of people, and put you into a gang as a fucking toddler because I didn’t look for your parents for more than a week, you wanna go mess with Nanu?” Guzma makes a guttural noise of frustration, and slams onto his back once more. 

Plumeria exhales through her nose, rolling her eyes and giving her boss a smack upside his head. “When you’re a dumbass and say it like that, of course she’s not gonna take it well.” Although Guzma rubs the slightly red handprint on his face, he doesn’t respond with more than a low grumble. Plumeria studies him for a minute, then her eyes slowly widen. “You’re worried she’s gonna leave the gang, aren’t you?” He doesn’t answer. She takes his prolonged silence as affirmative. Plumeria rubs her palm across her face, mind racing with how best to assure her long-time friend.

Their relationship has never been simple. When they first met, Guzma and Plumeria were just two not-quite-twenty year olds that had gotten fed up with the bullshit thrown their way for most of their lives. Plumeria recalls, vividly, one drunk night when Guzma got himself completely hammered and told her about his terrible childhood, in more detail than she thinks he ever remembered since. She didn’t have much better as a kid, since her parents both died within a few years of each other when she was about seven, and most of the foster homes she went through were hot garbage. They started out as friends, then up to casual sex, and properly dated for all of five minutes before they figured out they both had a lot of self-image and anger issues that made couples quarrels insanely problematic. Anymore, they’re just as much friends as they are boss and admin, but that makes talking awkward for things involving the larger Team Skull.

Especially with Selene.

Plumeria doesn’t know exactly how attached Guzma is to Selene. When they had brought Selene to Po Town as a toddler, he’d seemed perfectly happy with taking the role as a new dad, even if he was absolutely clueless. As the gang grew - and Selene got older - Plumeria noticed Guzma forcibly distance himself. Maybe it was to keep the other grunts, once they gathered up a fair number, from feeling jealous or left out. 

But he still _made time_ for Selene. Like the little birthday trip to Melemele to get her a Pokémon. Any other grunt, Guzma might’ve gone with them to make sure they didn’t run into trouble, but he wouldn’t have made the day trip all the way to Melemele just to be sure they’d get a Pokémon they could handle. And it’s not like he can avoid the fact that his relationship with Selene is vastly different than with any of the other grunts. It’s practically shoved into everyone’s face when Selene is allowed to cuddle and play with Guzma’s Pokémon while the other grunts may get indifferent huffs, at best, from both Guzma and his bug types. Even if he won’t admit it, Guzma has some kind of soft spot for Selene. And it obviously has some ramifications for Selene and how she sees herself in the gang, given how hard she’s taking the boss’s absence.

The admin glances between the far-away silhouette of Selene by the Pokémon Center and Guzma on the roof. A couple of real pieces of work, the two of them.

Plumeria sighs and tugs lightly on Guzma’s hair to get his attention. “You gotta do something, Guzma. Think about who knows all that stuff about Selene.” He knits his brow, lost in his head with what his admin is implying. “Kukui obviously didn’t recognize her. But what if he does next time? What exactly do you think is gonna be going through that kid’s head if it’s the guy she’s been told to go against at every turn that tells her where her mom is at? What’s she gonna think if she _doesn’t_ hear it from you?” That, if nothing else, seems to stun Guzma out of his apathy. She watches as his expression shifts from confusion to realization to fear and then back to a mask of indifference. It’s almost frustrating how much he acts like he has to hide his feelings, but Plumeria is all too familiar with the ins and outs of toxic masculinity, so she doesn’t hold it against him too much.

For another hour, she sits with Guzma on the roof, quietly watching the gentle swirl of storm clouds overhead as the day grew steadily darker. When she puts her hand on his shoulder, it jolts him out of a moment of hard thought. Gray eyes meet gold and unspoken understanding crosses between them. Plumeria stands, staggering as blood rushes back into her long legs. “Don’t wait too long to have that fight, either. Might be a good way to break the ice.” Guzma watches Plumeria half-stumble down the roof to the nearest balcony, flinching every time she pitches forward and ready to bolt if she needs help. Once she’s safely on the flat surface, he relaxes, and looks out to see that Selene has gotten worked up by Dax enough to chase after him, Litten close behind and blowing fireballs at the other grunt’s heels. Plumeria wasn’t wrong about the fight.

Hearing Kukui lay out the basic details of how he’d found Selene was more of a shellshock than he thought it would be. That doesn’t excuse running from a fight with a grunt and her _Litten_.

Getting a smack and a pep talk from Plumeria helped. Guzma finally peels himself off of the roof just as the first droplets of rain begin pattering against the rooftops of Po Town. He snatches the old radio and slides down the roof’s shingles, some breaking away to clatter against the broken edges, and lands heavily on the creaking balcony. As the rain picks up, the grunts start to scramble back and forth across the streets of Po Town, diving for shelter and snagging whatever metal or electronics that were sitting out as they did. Pokémon are scooped up or returned to Pokéballs or huddle up with the grunts underneath roofs. Most of the grunts run straight for the Shady House, and they’re shaking off water in the entry way when Guzma steps around the upper level.

He quietly slips into his room, careful to shut the door and lock it behind him. On the shelf behind his bed, his Pokéballs sit, one gently rocking back and forth against the others. Guzma exhales through his nose as he grabs it. He barely has enough time to pull it towards him before Golisopod bursts out, anxiously chittering beside the big throne where it had landed. Guzma crosses his arms and stares down the larger creature. “What?” Golisopod stares back in a decidedly accusatory fashion. It rumbles, the bone-rattling sound echoing through the room. Guzma rolls his eyes as he walks over to the bed. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna give me shit for not fighting Selene yet, too.” 

The moment his ass hits the shitty mattress, Golisopod is crowding him, large, armored claws keeping Guzma from escaping while the Pokémon’s smaller arms hook into its trainer’s clothes. Guzma shifts back, ready to kick. “What the fuck, Golisopod?!” Golisopod growls deep in its chest. Its claws begin to dig into Guzma’s skin, and for a moment Guzma wonders if it’s been too long since he fed his partner. 

As quickly as it came onto him, Golisopod is off, sulking away to lay heavily against the door. Guzma’s brow lifts as Golisopod stares at him laying on the bed, still stunned from the bug’s aggressive action. His Golisopod has never acted like this with him. Saying Guzma is worried might be taking it a bit far...but he’s not about to go to sleep with Golisopod out of its Pokéball. He holds the ball out and Golisopod doesn’t resist, but it still seems like Golisopod is staring intently at Guzma as it is enveloped in red light. Guzma places the ball back in its place on the shelf, and this time it remains still. He starts to reach for Ariados, since the Pokémon is very relaxed and likes to lay on his back when he sleeps, and its pointed feet make it great as an unintentional massage machine, but Golisopod’s Pokéball violently rocks as his fingers begin to wrap around the nearby ball. Guzma snatches his hand back and the shaking Pokéball stills. 

Guzma throws his arms up and flops back onto his bed. So now his partner is acting up. Wonderful. Exactly what Team Skull’s big bad boss needs - his own Pokémon getting aggressive and refusing to listen.

Sleep doesn’t come easy, it rarely does. Too much to think about to let Guzma get any meaningful sleep. It takes a while, but eventually, he manages to fall into a fitful rest. 

——

It doesn’t last.

When he first wakes, his brain is still muddled by sleep. Nothing really makes sense, the room feels like it’s tilted on its side, and Guzma groggily wonders how he’s staying in his bed so well. He grips the worn sheets, worried that he’s going to be tossed out at any second. A deep voice rings in his ears and it’s loud. It’s angry. It’s close. It’s indistinct, but the threat is there. Guzma slowly curls in on himself but he can’t exactly figure out why. 

A flash of bright white light pierces through his eyelids, and he’s suddenly awake. He sits up in his bed, looking back and forth across the room to figure out what’s just woken him up. His first instinct is to reach for Golisopod’s Pokéball, but he only finds five sitting on the shelf above his head. Guzma furrows his brow and fruitlessly knocks each Pokéball around in the search for his partner. Once again, he can only come up with five. Then he remembers Golisopod’s odd behavior earlier in the night. Maybe it got out of its Pokéball and went to lay by the door again? Guzma slides to the floor, feeling around for a Pokéball, and when he doesn’t find one close to his bed, he goes to the door, but still nothing.

Guzma opens the door and sees several grunts sleeping among the wrecked furniture on the lower floors to escape from the rain, with many more likely sleeping in the second story bedrooms. He notices a small pile of grunts shaking close to the front door, more than the rest. Their myriad of snores and snorts accompanies their boss as he steps quietly down the old staircases to investigate. The heavy mahogany double doors had swung open, and just beyond, out in the courtyard, Guzma can see three distinct silhouettes - a hunched, hulking beast, a smaller human shape, and a tiny streak of black racing through the rain.

At the very least, Guzma has to shut the doors so the grunts don’t catch a cold. He walks outside and shoves the double doors shut, then turns out to the courtyard. As expected, Selene is the one getting completely drenched alongside her Litten, both facing off against Golisopod. This is apparently what had Golisopod so worked up, then. Guzma watches from the shadow of the front step, curious as to what this sort of battle would look like. 

Selene doesn’t notice him, apparently, because she doesn’t turn away from her battle for a moment. She makes wide, swinging motions with her arms, likely from muscle memory more than trying to convey anything exact. Litten seems to move in time with her, slipping between the gaps in Golisopod’s defenses to land hits on its weaker underbelly. They still don’t hit hard, of course - Golisopod is a tough Pokémon, hardened by dozens of hundreds of battles, while this Litten is still young and inexperienced. That doesn’t seem to put a damper on Selene’s passion for battling, though. It’s difficult to say exactly what she is commanding her Litten to do, but it looks as though it follows her directions to a tee, based on her wild look of joyful determination.

Although its attacks don’t hit hard, it manages to land several, while Golisopod has a problem just keeping an eye on the tiny feline. Effortlessly, Litten weaves between Golisopod’s arms again, and licks the back of its leg with a long, exaggerated swipe of its tongue. Golisopod steps back, claws racing, closing around the Litten’s tiny body, but just as it’s about to grab the fire type, Golisopod seizes up, allowing Litten to bound away once again. Golisopod shakes away the paralysis and roars. It’s not angry, though; Guzma can tell even from this distance that Golisopod is far from frustrated. It’s actually enjoying itself. Selene sees it too, and she and Litten both grin at the hulking bug type.

And frankly, Guzma finds himself impressed. Some of the grunts that have come into Team Skull and gone through this little initiation battle were skilled enough to defeat some of the island kahunas and several totem Pokémon, but he’s never seen any of them manage a Pokémon as weak as Selene’s Litten so well against his Golisopod, and in the rain no less, where Litten’s Ember attack is practically useless and Golisopod’s Razor Shell hits even harder. Selene, in the short time she’s had her Litten, knows exactly what her Pokémon’s strengths are, and she knows how to turn Golisopod’s strengths against it. Paralyzing a massive Pokémon like Golisopod with Lick to allow her Litten to move more freely around it is battling genius at its finest. 

But this fight isn’t over til the boss is on top. “Golisopod, Razor Shell!” Guzma calls out over the rain as he sprints out, hood thrown over his head. Golisopod turns its head back, chittering with surprise. It hadn’t expected its trainer to run out to properly join the fight against Selene. Now that he’s out here, though, Golisopod is even more thrilled to fight. Selene seems surprised as well, and the momentary surprise is enough of a lapse in her concentration that Golisopod can rush forward and slash at her Litten. The Pokémon yowls as it flies backward, tumbling head over tail until it can finally dig its claws into the stone and skid to a stop. The singular hit has done major damage, Selene knows without even looking. But that’s the point. You gotta keep getting back up, because the world won’t stop kicking, even when you’re down. 

Selene looks out to Litten and the Pokémon, battered and tired but willing to fight, turns back to nod at its trainer. Selene clenches her fists and pumps one into the air, and her Litten starts bounding forward. The sudden drive after seeing her look so defeated for three days puts a spark of pride in Guzma’s chest, right alongside the competitive fire that won’t allow him to take it easy on her. “Sucker Punch it!” Golisopod runs to meet the small Pokémon, and just as the two are about to clash, it sidesteps and jabs Litten in its side. Again, Litten goes flying from the powerful attack, but it is much quicker to right itself this time. Selene chews her lip, and Litten runs for another attack. Guzma laughs out loud. “We can do this all day, kiddo! Golisopod, Sucker Punch!” 

The Pokémon run for each other again, but as Golisopod steps to the side and jabs down, Litten stops dead in its tracks, just before Golisopod’s attack can connect. Litten lowers itself on its front legs and lets out a yowling growl that makes Golisopod bat at its antennae. Litten presses the advantage, swiping at Golisopod’s exposed underside with extended claws. The attack lands, but it doesn’t faze Golisopod in the least. It was an excellent play on Selene’s part to predict a second Sucker Punch. Guzma feels like his entire body is getting slammed with a bolt of lightning and it’s a glorious sensation he hasn’t felt in a long time. “Yo, let’s finish this, Golisopod! Slash!” Golisopod’s claws glow like beacons in the darkness of the early morning storm. One last time, it and Litten run at each other, and as Litten jumps to deliver another Scratch, Golisopod catches the small Pokémon in the air, swiping at it with its own claws and sending Litten skidding across the stone courtyard.

The Pokémon comes to a stop just before Selene’s feet, knocked out and thoroughly beaten by Golisopod. Although it’s a defeat, Selene still seems wildly excited. She scoops up Litten into her arms, inspects it to be sure its injuries aren’t too severe, then waves across the courtyard for the all-clear. With the potential seriousness gone, Guzma leaps forward, whooping and roughly rubbing Golisopod across its hard shell in congratulatory fashion. Once he’s given his partner sufficient attention, he sprints across the courtyard and holds his jacket over Selene’s head as they run over to the Pokémon Center, Golisopod following closely behind. 

When they step inside, Guzma, Selene, Golisopod and Litten are soaked to the bone, dripping with rainwater just inside the door. The two med school dropouts are slumped against the counter, wrapped with a single blanket as they laid back to back. Guzma shrugs off his wet jacket and tosses it at them, jolting both awake. “Hey, I got a cat who needs a nap, and Golisopod could handle a patch-up too.” There’s a few minutes where the two grunts are stumbling over each other and their shared blanket, but they have the required machinery running before long.

After they take Golisopod and Litten, Selene and Guzma relax in the lobby. Selene wrings out her clothes as well as she can while Guzma pulls a couple of upended chairs over for them to sit on while they wait for their Pokémon to be healed. She’s still very damp, but Selene can’t squeeze any more water out of her clothes, so she sits beside the boss, cheerfully swinging her legs back and forth. Guzma laces his fingers behind his head and breathes deeply. He surprised himself with how heated he got in that simple battle. There was no question who would win, but watching Selene go all out for the first time with undivided attention was thrilling. 

Not to mention that she did ridiculously well for having a type disadvantage, being hampered by the weather, and just being an inexperienced trainer in general. That, more than the rest, is what Guzma got so excited about. If Selene can hold her own that well with so many things against her, he would love to see her in a fair fight. 

Outside, the rain continues to drum against the drab Po Town. Guzma peeks out the window to watch the unrelenting storm. Selene snags the hem of his shirt and tugs to get his attention. When he looks down, Selene hesitantly signs, “Thank you for finally battling with me.” 

Guzma huffs, more annoyed with himself than with Selene. He signs back, “It was overdue.” Maybe he should’ve schooled his expression a little better; despite how positive he’s tried to be about having the gang tradition done with, Selene still seems put off. Obviously it didn’t help to wait to do it three days after she got her Pokémon while almost everyone else in Po Town is asleep, but Guzma thought that having it done would make the grunt feel better. She doesn’t look like she’s more upset, just...not less, either.

For a moment, Plumeria’s words come back to him. 

_What exactly do you think is gonna be going through that kid’s head if it’s the guy she’s been told to go against at every turn that tells her where her mom is at?_

_What’s she gonna think if she doesn’t hear it from you?_

Guzma crosses his arms over his chest and taps his finger on his elbow. What would he think if the guy he’d been taught was the biggest hack in Alola told him about things that said hack shouldn’t know? Probably not much. _But it’s not about what Guzma would think_ , he reminds himself, _It’s about what Selene would think._

Selene is very empathetic and sensitive for being a gang member. She has a hard time stopping herself from helping the people and Pokémon around her. It’s simply part of who she is. Whether it leads to climbing a sheer cliff and suffering multiple pecking bites to get a Vullaby chick back into its nest or sharing thieved snacks with her fellow grunts whenever they fell into a depressive spell so that they would keep eating, Selene does whatever it takes to make those around her happy. Team Skull is the only family she has, and, Guzma thinks with a renewed confidence, the only family that’s been there for her for just shy of a decade. 

He looks over at the young girl, and she looks a bit happier, small smile peeking up from where she rests her head against her arms on the back of the chair. Guzma’s a hardass sometimes, but like hell can he resist Selene’s infectious vibe. He smiles back, even reaches over and gives her black hair a playful flick.

“Yo boss! ‘Mons are ready to go.” 

“And I stuck your jacket through the dryer, too.” 

Litten is curled up on Golisopod’s back as the larger Pokémon walks out from the back, alongside the girl, Fio, who holds out the thankfully dry and warm jacket for Guzma to take after he’s walked over. Fio and Jag give tired waves as they settle back amidst the strewn boxes. Litten leaps into Selene’s arms when she reaches for her partner and cuddles the warm feline against her chest. She and Guzma stand at the entrance to the Pokémon Center, and there’s a moment of hesitation before he lifts the edge of his jacket for Selene to duck underneath while they walk since the rain is still pouring.

Rather than go back towards the mansion, he decides to turn the opposite direction, towards the entrance to Po Town. When Selene glances up with a questioning look, Guzma, still trying to keep Selene’s head under the side of his jacket, awkwardly signs, “I’ll explain in a bit.” They walk all the way out of Po Town, and then turn out onto Route 17. Guzma had turned out this way on an impulse, determined to just rip the bandage off about what Kukui had told him days before, but he realizes as they walk that he’s got no clue how to start this talk in a way that isn’t going to look bad.

Arceus, there’s no way it’s not gonna sound bad to himself. But it doesn’t matter, just do it and go from there. 

The rain doesn’t lessen until the two make it to the edge of Route 17, where it meets the meadows of Route 16, and flower petals are dancing in the breeze alongside the much lighter rainfall. Litten scrambles to chase after a few stray petals that flutter too close, and Golisopod hovers just close enough to deter any potential predators that might be lurking in the fields of flowers. Guzma takes a few steps away from the grunt, and he still hasn’t come up with a good idea of how to start this difficult talk.

 _Just get it over with, Guzma, what is wrong with you? It’s talking. Selene is not gonna leave, she’s not gonna go run after Kukui and his stupid island challenge. She’s Team Skull, for fuck’s sake._ “Okay,” Guzma breathes out. He does his best to hide the slight shaking of his hands as he signs, “You remember when we went to Melemele, and Kukui talked with me?” Selene sticks her tongue out and puts her hand, her thumb and forefinger in an L shape, against her forehead. Guzma chuckles. This might not be so tough after all. “Yeah, that jerk. He wanted to talk about you.” Selene’s eyes widen. She tilts her head, confused. Guzma clenches and unclenches his fists a few times. “You remember the story of me and Plumeria finding you as a kid?” Selene nods slowly.

Guzma pauses when he sees Golisopod and Litten out of the corner of his eye, both growling and low to the ground as wind begins to pick up. Selene steps back, and when Guzma looks over his shoulder, he feels like he needs to go dunk his head into some sea water. A helicopter is touching down on the road just in front of Po Town, and the pearly white color matched with golden and black accents can only mean trouble. 

The chopper’s door slides open, and from it, a tall, blonde woman emerges, carefully treading with an Aether Foundation employee by her side holding out an umbrella. Golisopod comes to stand just behind the two Skulls, with Litten‘s fur puffing up as it glares at the white-clad duo approaching. When the pair comes to a standstill, the tall woman gives a warm, motherly smile, and Guzma doesn’t trust it for a second. “Alola,” she says, hands clasped in front of her, “I hate to impose, but I’m looking for Guzma, the leader of Team Skull.”

Guzma crosses his arms over his chest and leans back enough to cut an imposing figure even with rivulets of black hair dye bleeding over his neck and into the collar of his shirt. “That’s me. Who’s asking?”

“I am Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation.” Guzma digs his fingertips into his bicep rather than show the surprise he feels. “I have a proposal, if you are willing to hear it out.” She turns to the employee at her side, taking the umbrella from them with a dainty hand. “If you could offer our invitation, please.” The Aether employee walks forward and holds out a folded up piece of cardstock, which Guzma roughly grabs from their hand. Lusamine smiles as he unfolds the thick card. “I do hope you will consider joining us tomorrow. I eagerly await your arrival.” Just as smoothly as she came, Lusamine turns on her heel back to the idling vehicle. She and the Aether employee slip in and without any further wait, the helicopter takes off, silently, as it had landed. Guzma stares at the printed lettering on the card Lusamine offered.

He has his work cut out for him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are great, ain’t they?  
> ( >w0)b
> 
> Also somebody’s gonna get a competency boner next chapter (it’s Guzma)


End file.
